Talon of the Unnamed Goddess, a Fantasy Adventure Page 4

  "What did Ferox do for you to have him kidnapped? Did he antagonize you, Mistress Aisha?" The guard laughed at his own quip.

  "He should pray to the goddess Yun he doesn't. I'm a terrible person, as pri'Rhiannon will tell you." Nearby, another Talon watched Ferox, standing between him and the tray that was in the middle of the table. "Leszek, I would like to talk with the master herbalist."

  I felt certain cyanide had been mixed with the honey in the second of the two bowls; however, I needed someone to corroborate my findings. Hi'Varius might not believe me. I had to wonder if Master Taras might be right; I had overdone my acting. No, if I'm not consistent, I will eventually make a mistake and someone will deduce the truth. I must act the chaperone all the time.

  "That would be Master Hormiz," Leszek said.

  "Can you bring him here?"

  "I'll find him." Leszek turned and left the room.

  "Please take Ferox to another room," I said to the outside guard.

  "Ferox, come with me." The guard gripped the young man's arm and guided him toward a side room.

  "I didn't do anything. Why are you keeping me prisoner? What did I do?" Ferox protested. The other Talon also started to leave as Ferox was led out.

  "Please stay. I need you to guard the tray. Hi'Varius is likely to think I gave her poison myself if I were left alone with the herbs." He smiled at my gibe.

  "Hi'Varius has always been very protective of this daughter, more so since the assassination of his wife and other children. Siress Irenka encourages pri'Rhiannon to take advantage of her new status and her father's concern. I don't envy you having to deal with them."

  As one of Rhiannon's guard detail, he had been exposed to her for well over a month. He confirmed what I had observed. I nodded but did not respond. Instead, I examined the tray of spices still sitting on the table. I recognized every item, not from having been served them on my food, but from my studies of poisonous and nonpoisonous herbs. I smiled. At the time I had thought I was learning how to poison someone, not how to recognize being poisoned.

  Leszek entered a short time later with a small, bent-looking man with shaggy gray hair, a wrinkled face, and stained hands. I detected a living Healing Sigil but nothing else. From the strength of the sigil, I knew he was talented in his profession. He had the robe of a Master Apothecary, gray with silver trim. By the look of the scowl on his face, he wasn't in a good mood.

  "I am Master Hormiz. I demand to know why I was forced here!"

  "To tell me what condiments are on that tray." I pointed to the tray, deciding that talking nice to him wasn't going to appease him.

  Hormiz walked over to the tray, looked, and turned back to me. "Any junior cook could have identified those. Parsley, pepper, dill, garlic, chives, honey chili, raisins, honey—"

  "Please humor me and taste each condiment before you name them," I said. Hormiz's lips pursed in disgust. He looked defiant until Leszek nodded toward the tray, relented, and shuffled to the table, where he began sampling the contents of each bowl.

  "Parsley…pepper…dill …garlic…chives…honey…chili…raisins…honey—" Hormiz stopped in mid-sentence. His hand trembled as he dipped his finger back into the second bowl of honey, then smeared it on the back of his hand and bent to sniff and inspect it. "This honey has a powder mixed in with it." He tasted it again. "It's bitter…Cyanide! Did someone give this to hi'Varius? Is he ill?"

  **Well done, Sister.** Leszek signed from behind Hormiz.

  "Master Hormiz, let me introduce you to pri'Rhiannon's chaperone, Mistress Aisha. She is a mountain woman and well acquainted with poisonous herbs. This tray was used to serve pri'Rhiannon this morning," Leszek said.

  "May the blessed god Jian save her. What do the healers say?" Hormiz asked. His hands jerked in nervous spasms as if no longer under his control.

  "The dose was small," I said, "and pri'Rhiannon appeared well at her morning meal. I believe this is a new attempt on her life. I detected it before she ate enough to cause serious damage. The healers haven't yet been informed, in order to give the Talon time to determine who is behind this attempt on her life before they know we have spoiled their plans."

  "I understand." Hormiz clasped his hands together to still their twitching and calmed himself.

  "I'm grateful to you for confirming my suspicions, but for now, I must swear you to secrecy in both word and action."

  "Yes, of course. You will notify Master Healer Luminita soon?" Hormiz asked, his eyes moist with concern. "I realized that many in the palace must be upset and grieved with the deaths of hi'Varius's family so recently."

  "Yes, she will be notified today." Leszek led Hormiz toward the door with his hand under the man's elbow.

  **Bring me Ferox.** I signed when Hormiz had turned away.

  When Leszek returned with Ferox, the young man's shirt showed rings of sweat under the arms; his face was pale, and his eyes darted everywhere like a caged animal. "Why are you doing this to me?" he half shouted as Leszek closed the door behind them.

  "Do you know what you have been serving pri'Rhiannon, Ferox?" I asked. Only she had been served from the second bowl of honey; therefore, Ferox had intentionally given her that mixture.

  "No…yes, medicine! I don't know what kind." Ferox's eyes darted back and forth between the tray and me.

  "Cyanide." I hoped to discover something from his reaction. In a way, it would be nice to have a Truth Sigil even though it would only show what he thought was the truth. However, as convenient as the Truth Sigil was, it did not indicate the truth of the statement, only whether the individual believed it to be the truth. Because of that, I knew that depending on one could be risky.

  "No! The healer told me it was medicine to cure a...a woman's problem she had." Ferox squirmed like an animal caught in a trap. "He said I shouldn't let anyone else know because it would embarrass her. That's why there are two containers of honey. One with the medicine and one without. Pri'Rhiannon and Siress Irenka always have honey on their porridge."

  "Which healer?" I thought he was telling the truth judging by his defensiveness and fear; otherwise, he was a superb liar.

  "Master Healer Luminita's assistant, Healer Herk. I only followed his orders. He said Healer Luminita had prescribed it for her."

  "Did you mix the medicine with the honey?" I wondered how he failed to recognize the cyanide.

  "No, mistress. Healer Herk gave me the honey already mixed and marked the bowl to make sure I used the right one. See, the bowl has a small nick on the rim." Ferox walked over to the tray and pointed to the edge of the bowl. "I've got to get back to work. I'm going to be in a lot of trouble if I don't."

  "You have been very helpful, Ferox, and I tend to believe you didn't mean to poison pri'Rhiannon. You will however have to wait for a while longer. Don't worry; I will make sure you don't get in any trouble for being away from your work." I still needed to verify his story before I could let him go, and I had to figure out how to stop him from talking about the cyanide.

  The guard took the hint and escorted Ferox back to the other room.

  "Leszek, get me Healer Herk. The game is getting interesting." I was making progress.

  "Very interesting," Leszek said. "I also hear pri'Rhiannon is with her father, wanting you reprimanded or maybe whipped." His lip twitched as he tried not to smile. "I've never seen a Talon whipped."

  "Chaperones are terrible people, Brother Leszek. Go now. You're delaying my whipping." I smiled. Neither Leszek nor anyone else would live to see a Talon whipped.

  I sat on one of the bunks, considering what I had learned about the intrigue surrounding the hi'Lord and his daughter. I hadn't realized how much I would enjoy playing the chaperone and the clandestine routing out of the enemy. It was my duty. I would protect Rhiannon with my life, but I found it more exciting than I had ever imagined. It was developing into my first entertaining game of wits, a game I intended to win. My thoughts were interrupted as the door opened and Leszek dragged a middle-aged man into
the room.

  "I demand to know why you have dragged me here, and who is she?" Herk pointed at me. "Hi'Varius will be notified of this offensive behavior toward his healer."

  "She is Mistress Aisha, pri'Rhiannon's chaperone. She will determine whether you live or die." Leszek's mouth thinned to a sharp line, and his nostrils flared.

  Herk froze. The color drained from his face as his eyes darted to the tray of herbs on the table. His lips trembled. He had a living Illusion Sigil and a purchased Healing Sigil. I thought that was strange as he was a healer. Just then he gave me my first demonstration of an Illusion Sigil in action. As I watched, the bowl with the poison disappeared. Although I hadn't activated my sigil, I could see two images, the real one and the illusion. The illusion was misty while everything else was clear.

  "You can do this the easy way or the hard way, Healer Herk. The easy way would be for you to explain to me who you are aiding in your attempt to kill pri'Rhiannon and beg my mercy. The hard way would be for you to refuse to tell me what I want to know. In the latter case, I'll turn you over to the Talons, who will demonstrate their skill at causing you severe physical damage and excruciating pain." I emphasized each word. "Oh, your illusion is very nice, but we know where the second bowl containing the poison is located on the tray."

  Herk remained silent, but his eyes widened. I could almost hear him weighing his limited options: "they" will kill me…or…the Talon will kill me.

  "I believe Healer Herk needs a little demonstration," I said when Herk continued to remain silent.

  Leszek gripped him by the neck and pressed his thumb into the nerves. The man jerked helplessly and screamed. Leszek released him.

  "I didn't do anything wrong. I'll see you whipped," Herk shouted. At that, I thought I saw Leszek's lips twitch.

  "I guess Healer Herk wasn't impressed with your demonstration, Leszek Talon." I sighed. "He appears more scared of his accomplices than the Talon. Or, perhaps the Talon are overrated, Leszek Talon?"

  "Perhaps if I cut out an eye or two," Leszek said as a knife appeared in his hand, and he stroked Herk's cheek with it.

  "No! I'll tell you what you want to know," Herk screeched, his voice rising as his eyes tried to track the blade sliding down his cheek.

  "The truth please, Healer Herk. The truth will get you mercy. Lies will earn you a short lifetime of darkness and suffering." I pointed at one of the bunks, toward which Leszek pushed the sobbing man. "Now, Healer Herk, start at the beginning. If I detect any lies, I will stop the questioning and turn you over to Leszek Talon. I believe he would look forward to proving the Talon's talent with knives."

  "I was approached three weeks ago by a man claiming to be a messenger from an unknown lord. He said change was in progress. A prominent Second Lord would replace hi'Varius. If I would help expedite the change, I would become the head healer for the new hi'Lord. I was told the change would happen with or without me." Herk's voice trembled, barely above a whisper. Sweat beaded on his forehead, running down his face, and he turned a ghostly white.

  "Who was this messenger?" I prodded when he failed to continue. He swayed and paled even more.

  "I don't know. Honestly! I insisted on talking with the unknown Second Lord. A meeting was arranged, but Third Lady Castor and several nobles I didn't know showed up instead. Tri'Castor insisted that the Second Lord remain anonymous. She offered me fifty gold scrules as a sign of good faith. They gave me the cyanide and an advance of twenty-five scrules. I didn't think I had a choice. Tri'Castor would have had me killed if I had rejected her offer." Herk's voice lowered to a grating whine. I suspected that Castor would have eventually killed him in any case.

  "When did you give the mixture to Ferox?" I needed to know how many doses of cyanide Rhiannon had been given.

  "Three days ago."

  "Based on the concentration, how many doses would it take to kill her?"

  "It depends upon the exact amount she ate at each meal. Somewhere between fifteen and twenty days," Herk said, his voice becoming a little firmer as he talked about his own field of study.

  "You will be held by the Talon until we can verify your story. If you have told me the truth, the Talon will give the mercy I promised." I doubted that Varius would show him any. I turned my attention to Leszek. "Can you secure Healer Herk while we verify his story?"

  "Yes, we have secure rooms of our own."

  "I would like to talk to Master Healer Luminita."

  Leszek nodded, grabbed Herk by the upper arm, and dragged him from the room.

  I slowed my breathing as I sought my center—a place of peace. I couldn't help but wonder what Rhiannon and her father had decided about my behavior. His reaction would tell me a lot about the hi'Lord and his daughter. Perhaps the timing was good. It would be an ideal opportunity to make sure they faced reality.

  Master Luminita wore the traditional robe of a master healer, white with gold trim instead of silver. I was surprised that she seemed no more than in her late twenties, young to have a master rank. Thin and very tall, her face was narrow with high cheekbones, full lips, dark complexion, and dark red hair. She seemed tranquil considering she had been dragged here without an explanation. Her living Healing Sigil blazed with power, as did her living Truth Sigil.

  "Master Luminita, what can you tell me about Healer Herk, please?" The word please somehow seemed appropriate for someone so calm.

  "I know Leszek Talon. The question is who are you, and why is he doing your bidding?" Luminita questioned aloud and paused as she assessed me before continuing. "Pri'Rhiannon's chaperone, mountain woman, and what else, Mistress Aisha?"

  Luminita's voice was soft yet clear. Her eyes met and held mine, as she seemed to look into my mind. "Yes, I see… Herk is a good healer but not a Master Healer. However, he believes he should be the head healer for the kingdom. I'm afraid this is nothing you couldn't find out listening to the castle gossip."

  "Then you won't be surprised to find out that he was helping to poison pri'Rhiannon?" I maintained eye contact with her. My time had come to try to look into her mind, but she never blinked.

  "Cyanide," she stated with assurance after a short pause. "Pri'Rhiannon had stomach pains, as well as a little diarrhea and vomiting yesterday. Symptoms of cholera or, more likely, spoiled food. Or mild cyanide poisoning. I didn't examine her. Healer Herk did. I was scheduled to go to Terni and Livorno over the next two weeks. May I see her?"

  "She is all right. We need you to continue as usual, so we don't alert the people that Healer Herk is conspiring with to kill pri'Rhiannon."

  "Yes, I understand. I will want to talk with Master Hormiz."

  "You may. He is aware that she has been poisoned. He verified the poison in the tray on the table." I nodded toward the tray still in the middle of the nearby table. "And we will find an excuse later today for you to see her."

  "Do you know the amount and the number of times she received it?"

  "According to Healer Herk and Ferox, it has been served three times. Healer Herk made the mixture and says it would have taken at least fifteen servings." I couldn't help a small smile that touched my lips. "Considering, I believe he was speaking the truth. And I averted today's serving."

  "That is encouraging news, Mistress Aisha. You are good at what you do. Pri'Rhiannon is fortunate to have you as a…chaperone." Luminita bowed and turned to leave. I stood speechless until well after she had left.

  "I need to talk with Ferox," I said to Leszek when I recovered. He had crossed his arms over his chest and wore a peculiar look on his face.

  "Come, he's in the next room."

  Ferox stood babbling as I entered the room. "How is pri'Rhiannon? Did I kill her? I didn't mean to. I swear it before the goddess!"

  "Ferox, how would you like to help me catch the evil people who would do her harm?" I decided I needed additional help if I was going to win this game. Who better than a servant? Servants were beneath a noble's notice, ever present but invisible.

  "Yes, how can I h
elp?"

  "By telling me what you hear. I know the nobles don't pay any attention to servants like us. You hear and see things they don't realize you do, right?" My assurance made the question a fact.

  "That's true, but—"

  "I don't want you to spy. I don't want you to do anything different from what you do every day. Just listen. Listen to the nobles, listen to what the other servants are saying, and report what they say to me. That will help me protect pri'Rhiannon, and I will make sure the hi'Lord knows you helped me save her life. It's important that you don't do anything different than you do now. Just listen."

  "I'll do it, Mistress Aisha." A smile lit his face. "I'll do it. I hear lots of things every day."

  "Good. Act normal and don't talk to me unless you can do so without notice. In an emergency you can always let one of the Talons know you need to see me. As for today, tell everyone I caused you trouble because pri'Rhiannon was mad at me, and I blamed you. If necessary, Leszek Talon will confirm your story. Don't forget to say some nasty things about me. Now go." I patted him conspiratorially on the shoulder.

  When he left I turned to Leszek. "An interesting day, Brother Leszek."

  "Yes, you may have averted a whipping." He laughed. "This attempt on pri'Rhiannon's life was just the kind of assassination attempt I feared we wouldn't be able to stop without someone close to her. Even so, you exceeded my expectations, Sister Aisha."

  I smiled. I loved the Aerie, but it was never so much fun or so satisfying.

  "Master Healer Luminita surprised me. She has such a presence about her." I thought back on my interview with her. "It felt like she could read my mind."

  "Yes, she is an amazing woman, wise beyond her years, gentle and refreshing as a cool, soft breeze from Lake Tiamat." Leszek's face colored as he cleared his throat.

  "It sounds like you know her, Brother."

  "Yes, Healer Luminita and I are very old friends." Leszek broadened his smile as he opened the door. "We must see hi'Varius before he sends troops to find you."